MY FIRST SOLO VISIT!! (well, with K-dog)
The drive over here and the following Saturday was VERY stormy. I-89 was forever foggy. I relied on my navigation image to know if the road curves or is straight. Sometimes, the fog cleared a bit and I was surprised to see that I was not the only one on the road.
The hole into the radon pool that Paul made when he demo-ed the closet framing in the basement, which hissed and scared the heck out of us last weekend, seems to be nicely sealed with the Rust-oleum concrete patching material. I’m so relieved.
There was no more dripping water from that one section (the floor-heating temp setting knob) in the utility room, either. At least, there is no sign of it, and the bucket I placed underneath was empty and the floor dry.
No signs of mice. Phew. That was a huge thing two weekends ago. Since then, we have purchased some plastic bins and also ultrasonic mice repellent plug-ins. Many of them. The trap I set felt heavy so I was freaked out but when I shook it, I realize Kaiju’s kibble was still in there loose and no body was moving. I still need to open it.
I saw many flies, though, this time…. So, the battle against the nature continues. I am pretty good at swapping the flies. Killed about 8 of them this weekend.
Managed to close the damper of the fireplace. We burnt some firewoods left by J&D in there, and although we knew enough to open the damper ahead of time, the whole house still smelt weird and we couldn’t figure out how to close the damper. Or rather, the mechanism seemed broken. The house still smelled awful when I came back this weekend. I turned the thingy forever, and the damper slowly closed. And a day later, the house does not smell anymore. Either way, the chimney cleaning is needed.
I set up the network extender. The wifi now reaches our master bedroom easily. Now that room is ready for Nest. Must buy Nest.
Saturday was extremely windy. All day long. And I heard some sound from the house that I never heard before, whenever a giant gust hit the house. It was like the loud low-pitch buzz I hear at music venues speakers when loadies prep the stage. The buzz came from where the two a-frame roofs joined. Need to look this up. The lights flickered too, sometimes. That reminds me that I really need to have an electrician over to re-do the panel (and maybe install a generator).
We now have a toaster oven, and pots and pans. I made my first ramen here, and also heated up the can of soup. The IKEA portable IH stove works really well. The new moka pot worked, but the beans is ground for french-press, and perhaps that’s why. It didn’t taste good.
I drove to Williston VT. It is a giant strip-mall galore, but with all the stuff I need. Spent some time at Pet Smart, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond. Had a Pho, which was ok. And wanted to go to the grocery store (Hanneford) but didn’t have the time. Kaiju wanted to go home.
Sunday, I marked some trees for cutting with a nail gun and an orange roll of tape. Then I walked along the borders of the property (most borders) and marked them with orange tape as well as “POSTED” signs. While doing it, I was remembering how put off we were at one of the houses we looked at that the neighbor had those signs all over. Little did we know that VT has a law that allows people to hunt in private properties UNLESS there are those signs posted saying “No hunting, no trapping” etc. “No Trespassing” is the least important one of those statements, but it’s hard to find the signs that does not say no trespassing.
It was a lot of walking and a few slip-and-falling and ouch-ing. Reminded me how much I love walking in the woods. I was alone but I had some basic-needs stuff in my backpack, so I wasn’t afraid.
- I need to check what we can do with coffee ground.
- how to locate the leach field outside. Where Jerry pointed is a bit… hmm a suspect.
I have been thinking about how afraid I have been about the white people in general. But, I think that perhaps, I should act more uninhibited and joyful. How unfair of me to stick to the principle of “a racist until proven otherwise“. I should try to be more trusting and open. I encountered some very nice smiles and friendliness from people here.